After an 0-3 start that featured consecutive 30+ point blowouts and season-ending injuries to Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry, the Kansas City Chiefs will take a 2-game win streak, no matter how ugly the victories.
However, inching out narrow wins over the 0-5 Indianapolis Colts and the 1-4 Minnesota Vikings hasn't earned them much national credibility in the latest batch of NFL Power Rankings.
At Fox Sports, former NFL head coach Brian Billick has them at No. 26, the lowest ranked two-win team and behind one-win Philadelphia, Carolina and Arizona:
The Chiefs are on a two-game winning streak. Those two wins came against opponents that are a combined 1-9 on the season.
They don't fare much better with CBS Sports Pete Prisco, who inches them up two slots to No. 25 this week:
Maybe Todd Haley should jump Matt Cassel's behind more often? Cassel responded with one of his best games as a Chiefs quarterback.
Cassel's resurgence, combined with the out-of-nowhere emergence of fourth-year RB Jackie Battle, gives Kansas City a reason for optimism going into a two-week stretch against division rivals Oakland and San Diego, as ESPN's Matt Kuharsky notes:
After a bye, two big division games -- at Oakland and home vs. San Diego -- await the Chiefs.
The bye week couldn't come at a better time, as the Chiefs prepare for a two-week stretch that could push them to the top of the AFC West or out of the playoff picture entirely.